I love to share my faith with non-believers and seekers alike, who have questions about the Christian faith, what we believe and why we believe it. In light of the postmodern perspective that many people adhere to these day, I would like to give a biblical perspective as a contrast to those who say that there is no absolute truth. I believe that the truth can be found in God's word the Bible. http://media4lifeministries.com

Monday, October 10, 2011

The reality is that the entire world is crying for the Palestinians
to be given a state. I say, “Yes, let’s give them a state.” Now that we
are agreed on that though, the first thing we must do is to identify
who the real Palestinians are. Neither they nor Palestine are mentioned
in the Koran. Why?A little lesson in history: The etymology of the word “Palestinian”
in English is derived from the Old French word “Philistin,” from Late
Latin it is “Philistinus,” and from Late Greek, “Philistinoi.” They were
not an Arab or a Semitic people,
but were more closely related to the ancient Greeks and originated in
the Aegean region of Asia Minor. Any student of the Bible knows that the
Philistines were enemies of Israel.
In the history of the Philistines is also the story of the young Hebrew man, David, son of Jesse, who was incensed that a Philistine
warrior was allowed to challenge the one true God. The enemy of Israel
had advanced to the Valley of Elah and there challenged the Israelites. They produced a brobdingnagian (gigantic) champion, Goliath of Gath.
David volunteered to fight the giant and went out to face him with his
slingshot and five smooth stones he had retrieved from a dry river bed.
He slipped one of the stones into his sling and smote the Philistine on
the forehead. He used the giant’s own sword to behead him. Jehovah God
gave David the courage and skills not only to face Israel’s enemy, but
to kill the challenger. The Israelites pursued the Philistines all the
way to the city of Ekron.
The Philistines were ultimately defeated, absorbed into the
Babylonian/Persian Empire, and by the late fifth century BC, had
disappeared.
In 135 BC, Simon bar Kokhba, a Jew, proclaimed himself Prince of
Israel, Son of the Star, the Messiah, and led a revolt against the
Romans. The Roman governor and two legions of soldiers were defeated.
Bar Kokhba controlled the state of Israel from the Fort of Herodium just
south of Jerusalem. His coins were inscribed, “Year one—the redemption
of Israel.”
The Roman emperor, Hadrian, in response razed 985 villages and killed
almost 600,000 Jews. Hadrian wiped Jerusalem and Judea off the map and
deliberately renamed the area Palaestinia after the Jews’ ancient enemy,
the Philistines.
So, spread the word. Wanted: Non-Arab Philistines. As soon as all
these peace-loving nations can prove that Philistines are back, then
let’s persuade the Arab League to absorb them as refugees the way Israel
did with the Jews and all nations have done. Let them then turn over
the territories that have become a nightmare for the Jewish people
to the Philistines. You can be certain of one thing: there will
probably be some pretty large dudes in the bunch. Goliath was a
Philistine, and from what I know about him, he was not what you would
call a “happy camper.” I expect life will not be too pleasant for
mythological Palestinians when they meet the original Philistines.

To fulfill the reality of a Palestinian state, the world must demand that the vast majority of the land occupied by Arabs
in Judea and Samaria be returned to Israel. The people that call
themselves “Palestinians” must return to the Arab lands from which they
came. Then true Palestinians, the proven descendants of the Philistines,
could have their land. Since there are none to be found on this planet,
perhaps the next Mars rover will find them. By Dr. Mike Evans